September 11, 2018 1:12 PM

SOME OF SACKS WERE WILSON'S FAULT

Perhaps the biggest story in the Seahawks' season-opening loss was the ease at which the Broncos were able to get to Russell Wilson.

Wilson was sacked six times on Sunday (three of which came from All-Pro linebacker Von Miller). He did, for the record, take blame for three of them -- a result of trying to make something happen with the scramble when it just wasn't there.

"We missed some chances," Carroll said of Wilson. "There were a couple (where) he tried to escape to make something on a couple downs there that fell right into easy sacks for them. It wasn't because of the pass protection, necessarily. It was because he moved and flushed off the routes that got covered up. ... In this game, it happened to be that Russ fell into a couple, he missed a couple shots. He said it, too: he could've played better. He did a lot of good things, too."

SOME OF SACKS WERE WILSON'S FAULT
Perhaps the biggest...photo-16142289.185065 - |ucfirst

CARROLL: NOT SO FAST ON CRITICISM OF O-LINE, GERMAIN IFEDI

Carroll didn't give the offensive line a complete pass for their performance, but said it gets a harder time than it deserves (particularly starting right tackle Germain Ifedi).

"We're never going to say they did well when there's six sacks on the board, ya know?" Carroll said. "But they weren't responsible for all that. On the broadcast, all they could do was talk about Ifedi. Germain played OK in this game. ... He did a nice job on a lot of stuff. But we weren't quite as clean as we need to be on a couple pick ups.

"I think our protection is better than it's been. Six sacks doesn't show you that. The four-man rushes that they did we did very well on. We'll be able to clean some things up."

CARROLL: NOT SO FAST ON CRITICISM OF O-LINE, GERMAIN IFEDI...photo-16035894.185065 - |ucfirst

CHRIS CARSON IS OFFICIALLY RB NO. 1; SEAHAWKS KNOW THEY NEED TO RUN THE BALL MORE

Chris Carson is the clear, undisputed No. 1 running back for the Seahawks now.

Carroll confirmed such Tuesday, saying that Carson looked good while first-round pick Rashaad Penny looked "rusty" in the season opener (his first game action since Week 1 of the preseason). But it's also clear Carroll wants the team to run the ball more.

Carson and Penny combined for just 14 carries (seven each) and 59 yards. Carson had 51 of them.

"Not enough (rushing)," Carroll said. "The reason was we didn't covert on third down. It's just football. That leaves you where you don't get your next series."

EARL THOMAS AND BRADLEY MCDOUGALD BALLED OUT IN THE SECONDARY, DESPITE THE LOSS

Despite limited time together in practice this season, Bradley McDougald and Earl Thomas were flying around in the secondary against the Broncos on Sunday. Thomas, just days after ending his contract holdout, had an interception. McDougald had two picks of his own.

According to Seahawks PR, Thomas and McDougald were the only safety tandem to each record an interception during kickoff weekend.

"Right off the bat, Earl makes a terrific break on the ball, knocks the ball up," Carroll said. "B-Mac (Bradley McDougald) could've had a third (interception). ... They made the plays we needed to for the most part and all that.

"They played good football. I made that comment to the team, I thought they played really well."

Will Dissly, the rookie out of Washington, opened everyone's eyes on Sunday.

Known as just a blocking tight end coming out of college, he had three catches for 105 yards against the Broncos. According to the NFL Network, Dissly is the first tight end in NFL history with at least 100 receiving yards and a TD in his debut.

"That was really fun to see him come through like that," Carroll said Tuesday. "It's hard to tackle a guy that weigh 270 pounds running down the field, ya know? Good, tough catches. ... We are thrilled that he is a good catcher. He's got good hands. He has a good feel for it and I think he's only going to get better."

Broncos quarterback Case Keenum seemed to have all the time in the world in the pocket, with the exception of a Frank Clark sack (the Seahawks' lone sack in the game). Seattle was also pummeled on the ground by the Broncos' rookie RB tandem of Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay.

Carroll acknowledged his team needs to improve in both departments quickly.

"Whenever we give up as many yards as we did by the end of the game on the ground, it's not good enough for us," Carroll said. "We don't expect that to happen. ... That didn't help us finish the game."

Perhaps the biggest story in the Seahawks' season-opening loss was the ease at which the Broncos were able to get to Russell Wilson.

Wilson was sacked six times on Sunday (three of which came from All-Pro linebacker Von Miller). He did, for the record, take blame for three of them -- a result of trying to make something happen with the scramble when it just wasn't there.

"We missed some chances," Carroll said of Wilson. "There were a couple (where) he tried to escape to make something on a couple downs there that fell right into easy sacks for them. It wasn't because of the pass protection, necessarily. It was because he moved and flushed off the routes that got covered up. ... In this game, it happened to be that Russ fell into a couple, he missed a couple shots. He said it, too: he could've played better. He did a lot of good things, too."